[ Had this come up months ago, Arenvald wouldn’t be so keen to talk about it. Not many people back home knew of or fully understood the Echo. Arenvald carries enough stigma with him already, no need to add to it. But now, there’s no harm in talking about it if it’s useless.
Even if it wasn’t, though, he still trusts Connor. Trusts him enough to want to discuss his past, and his abilities. Well, ability. Aside from the Echo, he has ever been unremarkable, after all. ]
The Echo is a… a gift, I suppose? I’m not sure I came by it, myself, but primarily it allows me glimpses into the past. It’s not something that can be used at will, though. Visions just sort of… happen.
[ He can guess what a memory probe is, just based on the name. It sounds a bit more… invasive than what the Echo can do. ]
People, usually. Most often they crop up in situation of stress or intense emotion, but it’s a very fickle sort of thing. I could go moons— er, months, rather, without a single vision, or I might get a handful in quick succession.
That's actually a very impressive skill to have, though to be truly useful you'd have to manage a way for it to not happen only randomly. Still, looking into someone's past without them realizing it can be advantageous to you.
Aye. Primals are beings made of aether. Usually they're created when enough people get enough aether in one spot and start praying for their god to come down to... well, usually smite their enemies, that sort of thing.
[ You know, like gods do. ]
Aether is very reactive to the right sort of things, and sometimes prayer and desperation work just as well as any incantation. The Primal isn't truly a god, but it usually has the shape of one, and some version of their powers. In addition to that, a Primal can temper others, bending them to its will and making them thralls.
Those who are Echo-blessed can't be tempered. That's part of the reason I joined up with the Scions -- they have a hand in dealing with summonings, when they occur.
[That sounds fascinating and utterly worrisome all the same. Never mind Connor's thoughts on prayer, but it's more than obvious that things born of desperation can never be anything good -- such seems to be the universal truth of it.]
"Dealing" with summonings. Meaning that you come into conflict with them?
[He's trying to imagine Arenvald crossing swords(?) with a godlike being born of pure prayer. He's not sure he can quite form the right image in his head, with no offense to his friend.]
[That's still more primals than Connor's fought, which is a big fat zero. Experiences that he doesn't have and can't imagine unless his friend is kind enough to tell him about them.
Arenvald might look embarrassed, but Connor just looks attentive, ready to listen.]
[ Which might sound impressive, but next to someone like the Warrior of Light, and even the group of summoners he’d accompanied on his second jaunt, it was barely anything at all. ]
I really didn’t do much, honestly. It all happened so fast, I can scarce remember any of it.
[ He's oddly embarrassed by that notion. He doesn't think he'd be much fun to watch, but he doesn't want to outright dissuade Connor if he's curious. ]
I... I guess I won't stop you if you really want to.
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Even if it wasn’t, though, he still trusts Connor. Trusts him enough to want to discuss his past, and his abilities. Well, ability. Aside from the Echo, he has ever been unremarkable, after all. ]
The Echo is a… a gift, I suppose? I’m not sure I came by it, myself, but primarily it allows me glimpses into the past. It’s not something that can be used at will, though. Visions just sort of… happen.
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Is it like a memory probe?
[Before belated realizing that Arenvald has no context regarding that.]
Or rather… you really don’t know what causes a vision to happen? Are they connected to people, or places?
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People, usually. Most often they crop up in situation of stress or intense emotion, but it’s a very fickle sort of thing. I could go moons— er, months, rather, without a single vision, or I might get a handful in quick succession.
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Connor nods, considering.]
Is the other person aware of when it happens?
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[ Or if they know how to recognize the physical symptoms of a vision when it happens, but even among the Scions, that’s fairly rare. ]
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[Another pause.]
That's actually a very impressive skill to have, though to be truly useful you'd have to manage a way for it to not happen only randomly. Still, looking into someone's past without them realizing it can be advantageous to you.
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[ A shrug. ]
The rest of the Echo’s abilities are passive, but unless we were to run across a Primal on another world, it doesn’t hold much bearing here.
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[The questions just keep rolling along unless Arenvald stops them. ]
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Oh, right. You remember what I told you before, about aether?
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[Neatly delegated in his database, along with anything else he learns.]
The two are related?
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[ You know, like gods do. ]
Aether is very reactive to the right sort of things, and sometimes prayer and desperation work just as well as any incantation. The Primal isn't truly a god, but it usually has the shape of one, and some version of their powers. In addition to that, a Primal can temper others, bending them to its will and making them thralls.
Those who are Echo-blessed can't be tempered. That's part of the reason I joined up with the Scions -- they have a hand in dealing with summonings, when they occur.
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"Dealing" with summonings. Meaning that you come into conflict with them?
[He's trying to imagine Arenvald crossing swords(?) with a godlike being born of pure prayer. He's not sure he can quite form the right image in his head, with no offense to his friend.]
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[ He breathes out a little laugh, however, looking embarrassed. ]
Of course, when it comes to fighting Primals, I'm still very wet behind the ears.
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[That's still more primals than Connor's fought, which is a big fat zero. Experiences that he doesn't have and can't imagine unless his friend is kind enough to tell him about them.
Arenvald might look embarrassed, but Connor just looks attentive, ready to listen.]
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[ Which might sound impressive, but next to someone like the Warrior of Light, and even the group of summoners he’d accompanied on his second jaunt, it was barely anything at all. ]
I really didn’t do much, honestly. It all happened so fast, I can scarce remember any of it.
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[He knew Arenvald could fight, but he must be very skilled, beyond what Connor expected.]
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[ Arenvald “can’t take a compliment” Lentinus strikes again. ]
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I’m sure your contribution was just as important. You don’t strike me as the type to let others do the majority of the work.
If you don’t mind, I’d like to see you spar someday.
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[ He's oddly embarrassed by that notion. He doesn't think he'd be much fun to watch, but he doesn't want to outright dissuade Connor if he's curious. ]
I... I guess I won't stop you if you really want to.
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[He doesn’t need to be an RK800 to pick up on that self-consciousness.]
I won’t interrupt. I promise.
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[He's Connor; it's only expected that he'll be on Good Behavior.]
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Once we get back to the Temple then, I’ll let you know when I want to go a few rounds with the striking dummies.